His Unforgettable Past
by E person
Summary: When Itachi returns and secretly befriends Sakura, her and Sasuke's relationship will be put to the test. After hearing the real reason behind the massacre and another secret of his, will Sakura be able to reunite the two brothers and end their hatred?
1. In The Hospital

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Sakura lied in the hospital bed, watching the sun disappear behind the mountains, the air in the room was deathly quiet.

_**'Third day in the hospital. How are you feeling?' **_Inner Sakura asked.

_**'Like shit. I want to get out of here,'**_ Sakura replied. But all she really yearned for was the company of her friends, who should be arriving any minute.

"Knock, knock," a male voice said from behind the white sliding door.

"Come in, guys," Sakura said, sitting up and circling her head to the right to greet her blond teammate, happy that her visitors had arrived.

Naruto said hello as he sauntered in and made himself comfortable on one of the guest chairs. Almost immediately after, Sasuke walked in with a bouquet of red roses, pink mini carnations, and lavender lilies in a clear vase.

"For me? How sweet," Sakura said with mirth, observing as he arranged the beautiful flowers on her nightstand.

"I brought you something too, Sakura!" Naruto piped in as he took something out from behind his back.

"Oh, you got me a stuffed fox?" Sakura asked gleefully, her face lit up with a giant grin.

"Yeah, Hinata got me one when I was in the hospital once. It kept me company, and I saw how lonely you were the last time I visited, so I got you one too," Naruto replied, handing her the orange and white stuffed animal.

"You're too nice, Naruto. Well, when you want to be," Sakura said with a grin while placing her plushie next to the vase of aromatic flowers.

_**'I wonder when him and Hinata are going to get together?' **_Sakura wondered.

_**'Once he becomes a man and asks her out!'**_ Inner replied.

"Hm, I'm nice aaaaaall of the time! Right Sasuke?" Naruto asked while crossing his arms, trying to defend himself.

"Hn, can you leave now?" Sasuke replied, his eyes never leaving the wound on Sakura's left shoulder.

Naruto gave him a death glare before complying to his teammates request. He could see that he and Sakura needed some time alone. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura! And I'll deal with Mr. Bastard here later."

When Naruto left, Sasuke came over to her and sat on the edge of the snow-white bed.

He lifted a warm hand up to her pale face and stroked her cheek gently, like he was afraid that she might shatter if he wasn't careful. "How are you doing?"

"A lot better than the first day. That was hell," Sakura replied, taking Sasuke's hand into her cold ones.

"How's your shoulder? Are you sure that you should be sitting up?" Sasuke questioned, deep concern in his once emotionless, black eyes.

"My shoulder and I are fine, Sasuke," she reassured him.

_**'Your shoulder and you are the same person, you idiot!' Inner Sakura responded from within.**_

_** 'Shut up! I'm trying to have a nice moment with my boyfriend and you have to butt in?' Sakura exclaimed.**_

Some of the worry left Sasuke's eyes, but his face was still tense. "When will you be released?"

"Lady Tsunade said that if I did good today, then I could be out early tomorrow morning," Sakura said.

Sasuke nodded his head in response and squeezed her hands with his. "I'm still really sorry, Sakura. It's all my fault."

Sakura slowly leaned in to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek before saying, "For the hundredth time, it's not your fault and I accept your apology."

The guilt swam into Sasuke's eyes again as he stared at her angelic face.

_**'Why can't she just hate me? It **_**was **_**my fault that she got hurt. I promised that I wouldn't let her get hurt,' **_Sasuke thought, angry at himself for being so damn careless three days ago.

***Flashback***

_ "There they are," Naruto whispered loudly, looking at the four ninjas resting below._

_ Sakura's fist connected with the blond's head as she whispered, "Shh! Stop yelling! We're on an assassination mission, you idiot."_

_ Naruto rubbed his severely bruised head as Sasuke hn'ed._

_ "Both of you need to be quiet or else-" Sasuke began before being interrupted by the rustle of leaves from behind._

_ Team seven jumped out of the tree as a male ninja, who looked to be about eighteen or so, jumped down behind them holding a long, slender, and rusty knife in one hand._

_ "Nice job, Sasuke, now we've been spotted," Naruto mumbled._

_ The three other ninja are now joining their friend, gathering around team seven. _

_ "Three... two...," Sakura began counting down. _

_ Naruto, Sasuke, and her all got ready for the inevitable battle._

_ "One!"_

_ Sakura used the chakra that was collected in her feet to charge towards the nearest target, which happened to be a girl, about the same age as the knife wielding boy. As she got closer, Sakura compiled her chakra into her right fist, glowing green with energy. Before she made contact, the girl intercepted Sakura's attack with a kick to her jaw. Anger flashed in Sakura's green eyes as the girl backed away, getting ready for another hit._

_ "Aimi, get out of here!" The knife wielding ninja commanded, jumping in front of her._

_ Aimi had a frightened expression on her thin, pale face as Sakura got into a fighting stance. The girl doesn't move as the boy charged at Sakura, thrusting his fist at her. The pink haired girl blocked with her gloved hands and countered with a punch to his nose. An evident crack was heard as the boy winced and took out his rusty knife and flung it towards Sakura._

_ Sakura's eyes widened as she slumped to her knees, "Ah!"_

_ She instinctively pulled out the knife and began healing the bleeding, open wound with her chakra. The male ninja charged toward her with another fist, but Sakura quickly stood up and dodged it. She then ignored the male ninja and starts running toward his only weakness, Aimi. Sakura concentrated her chakra into her fist and dashed toward the girl again. Even though the girl tried to block the attack, one critical hit to the her stomach drove her to the ground, groaning in pain while clutching her stomach. She started coughing up blood as Sakura swiftly took out her kunai and stabbed it into her heart, quickly ending the battle. She then turned her attention to the other enemy. For the first time, Sakura noticed that he had ghostly white hair and skin, but his dark gray eyes were a massive contrast. He looked at Sakura with pure hatred and unimaginable pain in his eyes when he saw the lifeless girl on the floor._

_ Naruto was fighting one of the older ninjas. He had short brown hair with matching eyes and a lean build. _

_ Naruto did a back flip to avoid the kunai that was thrown at him. He landed on his feet and took three shuriken out of his ninja pouch, thrusting them at his opponent, who deflected them with another kunai. His opponent ran towards him, his hand rolled into a fist. Expecting a punch, Naruto was caught off guard by the kick to his chest that sent him flying back into a nearby tree, scattering fragments of wood everywhere. Naruto gave an angry huff and stood up, shaking off the pain._

_ "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto said, eight clones appearing as the smoke dissipated._

_ The brown haired ninja bounded toward the clones, slashing through each one, trying to find the real Naruto. _

_ After piercing through the last Naruto on the field, the ninja looked around in confusion before he heard, "Rasengan!"_

_ Before he could even turn around, intense agony shot through the enemy's back, his skin and muscle tearing off of his bone. Naruto stood up, panting and wiping the mixture of blood and sweat off of his cheek, and looked down at his now deceased opponent. _

_ Sasuke was fighting the other older ninja. He was also a brunette, but with pale violet eyes. His built body shone threw his tight, black shirt. _

_ "Come on, Uchiha, are you scared?" The stranger taunted._

_ Sasuke unsheathed a new sword that looked like a smaller version of his Sword of Kusanagi. It was Sakura's father's sword; the one that he gave him daughter on the day he died. Sasuke dashed toward his enemy._

_ The brunette jumped back, putting distance between them, and pulled out his own sword. Sasuke swung and the sound of metal colliding rung through the air. The other ninja pulled out a handful of shuriken and threw them in the direction of Sasuke. He blocked the weapons with the blade of his sword, but he did see that his opponent was running up toward him. The ninja lunged while Sasuke quickly tried to back away. The tip of the sword sliced into Sasuke's arm and warm, crimson liquid started to run out._

_ Sasuke gave a grumble of annoyance as the opponent said, "Ha, I thought the Uchiha's were powerful?"_

_ Sasuke then slashed forward angrily at his opponent and the sound of metal pierced the air again. The enemy ran back, trying to make a gap between them, but Sasuke was too quick. Sasuke swiftly drove the sword forward and stabbed his enemy in the chest, piercing through his lung. The Uchiha then channeled electricity through his sword and into the now inanimate body. Sasuke collected the sword back, gave a 'hn', and surveyed the area around him, wondering where Sakura was._

_ The white haired ninja bore his venomous glare into Sakura. He was shaking with built up rage. The enemy then darted away as Sakura stood there in shock. She quickly recollected herself and sprinted after him. Sakura saw Sasuke in the distance and yelled his name, "Sasuke!"_

_ The Uchiha turned around, stumped as to why Sakura was running in another direction. Before he could ask what was wrong, Sakura's eyes suddenly widened and she faltered and fell to the ground. Sasuke ran toward her, leaning down to help her sit up._

_ "What's wrong?" He asked, supporting her back up._

_ "I... I don't know," Sakura responded, her breathing was ragged._

_ "When did you get that? How bad is it?" Sasuke asked while pointing to the wound on her shoulder, anger present in his deep voice, his eyes trained on the ninja who was still running away._

_ "His knife. It's not bad. It wasn't that deep," Sakura informed him, clenching her jaw because of the pain._

_ After hearing that she was in decent health, Sasuke went after the white haired ninja._

_ "Sakura! Sakura!" the medic heard as Naruto ran into view._

_ The image of Naruto got hazier as he ran closer. Sakura started feeling lightheaded before her body went limp and she slumped to the ground._

_ The last thing that she heard was Naruto calling for her boyfriend. She remembered him saying the words 'infection' and 'poison?' and 'spreading'. The last thing she saw was Naruto's worried face, joined by Sasuke's extremely concerned and hurt one. The last thing she felt were two strong arms picking her up. The last thing she smelled was the sweet and spicy smell of Sasuke's blue shirt, before the darkness claimed her._

***End Flashback***

"It's getting late, Sasuke. You should probably go home now," Sakura said meekly.

Sasuke looked outside and noticed that the sunset that he saw when he came in here was now gone. In it's place was a full moon, illuminating Konoha with it's natural glow. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew that she was right.

"Go to sleep, Sakura. I'll come over tomorrow morning to see if Tsunade will release you," he said as he leaned forward for a good bye kiss.

Sakura returned it and said her good bye. As Sasuke left the room, he turned the light off. The only light now was radiating off of the moon outside.

_**'Beautiful...,' **_the pink haired girl thought as she laid her head down, ready for sleep.

Before she had completely closed her eyes, she saw fierce, piercing red eyes outside her window, looking directly at her. But she couldn't fight back the deep slumber that was pulling her into a world of darkness.

**Welcome to my new story, also known as the sequel to Her Unforgettable Past, His Unforgettable Past! Also, if you are reading this because you read Her U.P., then thank you so much for staying with me throughout this experience. **

**Do you think that I should continue this story? REVIEW!**

**E person :)**

**Thank you to **chronicxxinsanity **for helping me with the flashback scene** :)


	2. Itachi Uchiha

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Sakura woke up early in the morning, the sun poking itself over the lush, forest leaves. There was a thick fog settling over the village today.

"Ugh... too early," Sakura moaned as she laid her head back down.

A sudden chill ran through Sakura's body as she opened her eyes and bolted up into a sitting position.

**_'What was that?' _**Sakura thought, looking out the window, her heart beating a little faster.

**_'Look to your left, hon,"_** her Inner said.

Sakura turned her head and saw that it was a person wearing the akatsuki cloak. He had black hair, tinted with a little blue, with bangs hanging at the sides of his face and the rest in a ponytail. His gray eyes casted an intense gaze on the pink haired girl as he took a step forward. Itachi Uchiha.

The girl's eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Sakura Haruno?" The older Uchiha asked, his deep voice echoing off the walls.

"W-why are you here?" The girl in question asked.

"Don't be afraid. I just want to talk," he said, his gaze softening.

**_'Well, he's a lot more talkative than your boyfriend... and he's hot!' _**Inner Sakura said, squealing like a fan girl.

Sakura felt her guard falling. She knew that he meant no harm. The pink haired medic slowly removed her blankets and sat at the edge of the hospital bed. "What do you want to want to talk about?" She finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Sasuke," was all the Uchiha said while grabbing a nearby chair at sitting down.

"What about him? Are you here to hurt him?" Sakura asked, looking at him with intense, emerald eyes.

"No, and I would never hurt him," Itachi said with a blank face.

"What do you mean, you would never hurt him? You killed everyone that he loved!" She spat, pointing a finger at him accusingly.

He was silent for a moment before responding with, "I killed everyone because I loved my foolish, little brother. You shouldn't accuse me without knowing the facts." His voice was now hard again, without any emotion.

Before Sakura could say anything, Itachi preformed the body flicker technique and disappeared in a puff of smoke. She then heard the echos of high heels clicking against the wooden floor before the door to her hospital room was opened.

"Oh, Sakura, I thought that you were still asleep. Well, as long as you're up, I want to tell you that you can go home today. I've sent a message to Sasuke and Naruto to be here at noon," Tsunade said, coming over to check the girl one last time. "Yep, everything seems OK. Now, go back to sleep, you're looking a bit tired."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Sakura said, taking her teachers advice and lying her head down, where darkness took her once again.

"Here, take it easy," Sasuke said while helping her sit down.

"You heard Lady Tsunade, Sasuke. I'll be fine," Sakura said.

"You worry too much," Naruto commented while placing his order for his first five bowls of miso-pork ramen.

"I care about the people I love. Is that such a big problem?" Sasuke asked, suddenly angry. Naruto glared at the Uchiha, the tension present in the air.

"Hey, no fighting, you two. Let's just enjoy our meal, OK?" Sakura said while glancing at her two teammates nervously.

**_'Whoa, what's going on with Sasuke? Why did he get so angry all of a sudden?" Sakura wondered to herself._**

_** 'I don't know, but isn't he super sexy when he's angry?' Inner Sakura said, drooling over Sasuke's sculpted, tense face.**_

_** 'Of course that's all you care about...'**_

The two grunted and turned to their bowls and started eating.

**_'I'll talk to him later...,' Sakura mentally reminded herself._**

After they were done with their meal, Naruto went home to collect his things to go train with Kakashi sensei. Sasuke walked Sakura home, although the village was unusually empty. The morning fog had lifted, but it was still a chilly afternoon, even with the sun shining down on the village.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sakura asked as she locked arms with her boyfriend, leaning into him as a gust of wind blew across the dirt road.

"Hn?"

"What happened when we were at Ichiraku's? Why did flip out on Naruto?"

Sasuke tensed, but replied, "Look, Sakura, it was nothing. I just... lost it for a while."

Sakura knew that he wasn't telling the whole truth, but didn't want to push him any farther.

"We're here."

Sakura looked up to see that they were now in front of her red front door.

"OK, I'll see you later then," Sakura said as she pecked Sasuke on the lips.

"Later."

Sakura watched him walk down the street to his own house.

**_'Hm... I'm still curious about Sasuke's attitude. Maybe I'll just go for a walk to think," Sakura thought, "I'll go see how Naruto's doing."_**

Sakura made her way to the training grounds, finding that Naruto was sitting on the grass, chugging a bottle of water. She was about to say hi when another voice beat her to it.

"H-hello, Naruto," a shy, soft voice said, walking into view. It was Hinata.

Sakura moved closer to eavesdrop, hiding behind a tree.

"Oh, hey Hinata! How're you doing?" Naruto said while getting up and wiping his hands on his orange pants, leaving a streak of dark brown dirt.

"O-oh, I'm d-doing well, th-thank you," Hinata stuttered, fiddling with her fingers while blushing madly.

**_'Poor Hinata. I should get those two together, don't you think?' _**Sakura thought to her inner.

**_'Yeah, that'd be nice. Stupid Naruto, he's so oblivious to the poor girl's feelings,'_** Inner thought back, giving a sigh.

"So what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, wiping sweat off of his face.

"O-oh, I was j-just... um, waiting for K-Kiba and Sh-Shino. We are tr-training today," Hinata said, glancing at her crush.

"Oh, that's cool. Well, I think I'm done for the day since Kakashi-sensei didn't show up again, so see ya," the blond said while collecting his belongings and waving a good bye.

"B-bye, Naruto," Hinata said, looking down at the ground. She had a disappointed look on her red face.

When Naruto left, Sakura stepped out from behind the tree and walked up to her friend. "Hey Hinata. What's up?"

The blue haired girl looked up and said, "Oh, h-hello, Sakura. I'm f-fine. H-how are you?"

"Good, but... I was wondering why you look so sad," Sakura said while looking at her with curious eyes.

"I-it is nothing," Hinata said, looking back at the ground.

"Come on, Hinata, you can tell me. We're practically sisters. Does it have something to do with Naruto?" asked Sakura while sitting down. She patted the area beside her, motioning for Hinata to sit down.

Hinata sat down and continued with a sigh, "Y-yes. I w-was planning on a-asking Naruto out, b-but chickened out a-again."

Sakura smiled at her shy friend while putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's OK, Hinata. How about I help get you two together?"

"W-would you? Th-that would really h-help," Hinata said, looking at Sakura with hopeful, light lavender eyes.

"Of course I would! I'll think of some ideas and get back to you, OK?" The pink haired medic asked.

"Thank y-you so much, Sakura." The two girls hugged, but Hinata said that she had to go.

"I don't r-really have t-to train today. I-it was an ex-excuse to be here," she told Sakura.

After the Hyuga left, Sakura stood up, getting ready to go back home.

"Sakura."

She turned around to find Itachi again, standing about ten feet away.

**Chapter two is up! Thanks for the people who read the story.**

**E person :)**

**7-23-11**


	3. The Truth

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

"Hello, Itachi. It's nice to see you again," Sakura said warily.

"Yes, you too, but I wasn't done talking to you," Itachi said.

"OK?"

"I need a favor from you," he said in his deep, monotone voice.

"Depends on what you want in return," Sakura said, crossing her arms.

"Hn, you're a clever girl, aren't you? But what I want won't cost you anything but some of your time," Itachi said.

"You mean... if I do you a favor, in return, all you want is to talk to me?" Sakura questioned, raising a pink eyebrow.

"Yes."

"OK, sounds easy enough, now what is the favor?"

"I need you to keep a secret," he said, walking forward to the pink haired girl.

Sakura's guard went up as she asked, "OK? What is it?"

He stopped, putting an arms length between them, and continued, "I was forced to kill my clan."

Sakura looked at him curiously with disbelief.

_**'Forced? How is someone forced to kill their whole entire clan in one night?'**_ Sakura thought.

Although the medic didn't say anything, Itachi continued. "The leaders of Konoha suspected that a Uchiha was behind the attack of the nine tailed beast because of our Sharingan. In order to observe us, we were relocated to a corner of the village. Once there, arguments and fights broke out within the clan, so some clan leaders planned to overthrow the elders of the village. I was assigned the task of spying on Konoha from within the ANBU. I did not want war to rage between the clan and the village, so I became a, I guess you could say, double agent. I supplied the Konoha elders and leaders with all of the information and rumors running through the clan. I knew that if the Uchiha clan attacked our village, the war would weaken Konoha. The village's state of weakness would tempt other villages to invade. The violence would escalate until everyone was killed. I couldn't let my family die because of our clan leaders' foolish actions and thoughts," Itachi stopped and took a deep breath, "I apologize. It's just that this is a difficult story for me to tell. It brings back so many memories."

Sakura felt sympathy for the older Uchiha. She went up to him robotically and gently wrapped her arms around him, trying to mend the broken heart that won't ever heal. Itachi didn't move at first, too stunned to even think, but then accepted her embrace.

"I'm sorry you had to carry such a big burden on your shoulders. No one should have to go through what you went through," Sakura consoled him softly, "You don't need to finish your story."

Itachi gave a sigh and said, "I know, but I need to tell someone. I've been keeping it a secret for too long."

"Then tell me another time. How about tomorrow?" She suggested, the both of them separating.

"Thank you, Sakura. Maybe little brother isn't so foolish anymore. I mean, he's a smart person to choose you," he said, smirking at her.

Sakura blushed and mumbled a thank you. Behind her, she heard the rustle of leaves.

"I'll see you tomorrow night at your house," was all Itachi said before poofing away again.

"Sakura?" A male voice asked from behind.

She turned around and said, "Oh, Sasuke! I was just, um, taking a walk."

"OK? Why are you acting so jumpy?" He asked, walking up to her.

"Oh, no reason. I'm just... hungry," she said.

_**'Nice excuse,'**_ Inner Sakura said. Sakura couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

He looked at her with a curious face, but let the subject drop. "Let's go eat then. How does barbeque sound?" Sasuke said, locking hands with his girlfriend.

"That sounds great," she replied as they made their way to the restaurant for dinner. She mentally let out a sigh of relief that he didn't find out about her encounter with his older brother.

The couple walked into the barbeque restaurant and found Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Kakashi-sensei sitting at a booth, their order of food had just arrived. Kiba saw them first and waved them over, "Hey, over here, guys!"

After much protest from Sasuke, and much begging from Sakura, they finally walked over to join their friends.

_**'Hm, he's still as antisocial as always,'**_ Sakura thought while taking a seat next to Shikamaru while Sasuke sat next to Kakashi, facing her.

_**'Yeah, but we still love him anyway!'**_ Inner proclaimed.

"So, Sasuke, how has no more probation been?" Choji asked.

"The same except I have harder missions," Sasuke replied.

Sasuke's probation from when he returned to Konoha ended early, cut down to half a year because of his good behavior, and it was over entirely a while ago. Tsunade let him go on higher class missions, and Sakura didn't have to watch over him anymore.

After placing another order of food, Sakura asked, "So, what's new with you guys?"

"I forgot that Naruto and I were training today, so he flipped out on me," Kakashi-sensei said while reading his novel, "Although, that isn't really new."

Sakura gave an amused laugh as she turned to Choji. "How have you been?"

"Good. I just came back from a mission, actually," he said while eating his meal.

"That's good," Sakura said, giving him a smile. "Shikamaru?"

"Everything's been fine except that Ino's been acting really troublesome lately," Shikamaru said.

"You mean even more troublesome than usual?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Shikamaru and Ino started going out after Sasuke came back. Shikamaru's the only one who cares enough to put up with her diva moments. Even so, Ino has been Sakura's best friend and rival since their academy years.

Sakura gave him a sympathetic smile and turned to Kiba. "You?"

"Nothing much. Shino, Hinata, and I are training tomorrow morning if that counts as something," he said, putting a slice of meat in his mouth.

"Yeah, I talked to Hinata a few hours ago, actually," the rosette said, taking a sip of the water she ordered.

"You know, I noticed that she's not as shy as she used to be since you and the other girls have been spending time with her," Kiba said, "I guess I should thank you for that."

"No need to thank me, and yeah, she's improving. But you know what will give her a big motivational boost?" Sakura asked them as Sasuke's and her order arrived.

"No, what?"

"Getting her and Naruto together," she said and watched as four surprised faces and one with an arched eyebrow stared back at her.

"Shy and sweet Hinata with the hyperactive knucklehead Naruto? Are you sure you did your math right?" Shikamaru asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Yes, I'm positive. Please, will you guys help me? Please?" Sakura begged, putting her hands together and giving them puppy dog eyes while batting her eyelashes. Who could resist?

"OK," Choji agreed while continuing to eat his grilled meat.

"Sure, for Hinata!" Kiba said while giving Sakura a high five.

"Naruto _could_ use a girlfriend. Especially someone as calm and down to earth as Hinata...," Kakashi-sensei thought out loud, "Count me in!"

"How troublesome, but sure," Shikamaru said, giving a sigh.

"Yay, thanks, Shika!" Sakura cheered, giving him a hug.

Everyone then faced Sasuke, waiting for his answer.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"Hn." Translated, this means sure.

"Great! You guys are amazing," Sakura said, "OK, we'll have to come up with a plan tomorrow. How does lunch at Sasuke's house sound?"

"Why my house?" Sasuke asked, surprised and irked at the same time.

"Because out of all of us, you're the only one who can even boil water. Also, because I haven't had your food in a long time and I need more of it," the pink haired girl said.

"Hn."

"Good, it's settled then. Can you guys make it?"

"Yeah, our training usually ends at around lunch time anyway," Kiba explained.

The other guys nodded a yes. After everyone finished eating, they left together and then split up as they made their ways home. Sasuke was escorting Sakura to her house again. The night air was refreshingly warm as the stars twinkled beautifully overhead. The couple said their good byes and Sakura watched him until he disappeared down the street. She then went into her own house and laid her excited and happy body down for sleep. Before falling into a deep slumber, Sakura looked out the window and saw the intense, red eyes again.

**Thanks for reading :)**

**Also, credit goes to this site: ****.com/wiki/Uchiha_Clan_Massacre**** for helping me with information about the Uchiha Massacre. **

**E person :)**

**7-29-11**


	4. Itachi's Secrets

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

"Wow, who knew Sasuke could cook?" Kiba said as he took the last bite of his stir fried rice noodles.

"Hn."

"I know, right?" Sakura said, reaching for the last of the mushrooms and onions with beef, "But where's Choji, Shikamaru?"

"He found out that he and his dad had to go on a mission last night," Shikamaru said, setting down his chopsticks, "OK, now that we're all done eating, let's get down to business."

Sakura wiped her mouth and said, "OK, we're here today to discuss Hina and Naruto."

"Yeah, what could we do to get them together?" Kiba asked, stroking his chin.

"How about we get our team to train with team Kurenai?" Kakashi suggested, "Then, we could pair Naruto and Hinata up."

_**'Or does he just want to flirt with Kurenai-sensei instead?' **_Inner asked suspiciously.

"I think that's a great idea!" Sakura said, getting out a piece of paper and a pen to make a list.

"Yeah, I'm sure Kurenai-sensei would agree to that. What else could we do?" Kiba asked.

For the next hour, they plotted and extended the list.

"Naruto's an idiot," Sasuke said as he and Sakura were walking through the fields behind the academy.

"Yep," Sakura agreed, watching as Naruto tried to run away with Kakashi's Make Out Paradise book. He was dared to by Kiba.

"Hey, guys!"

The couple stopped and looked to their right.

"Oh, hi Iruka-sensei! I haven't seen you in a while," Sakura said as she pulled Sasuke with her to where he was standing.

"Yes, and... oh. What is Naruto doing now?" Iruka asked, concerned, watching his former student get caught by Kakashi.

"He took Kakashi-sensei's book," Sakura answered.

"That explains that. So what have my former students been up to? Oh, and I see you two finally got together, huh?" Iruka said, a smile on his face.

"Yeah, we got together a couple of months ago. We were just taking a walk through here. It brings back so many memories...," Sakura said, returning the smile.

"It does, doesn't it? I remember whenever I held class outside, we always had to chain Naruto to a tree so he wouldn't run away," Iruka said, laughing at the memory.

Sakura chuckled and even Sasuke cracked a small grin.

_**'And now he trains 24/7. How ironic,'**_ Sasuke thought.

The three of them then watched as Kakashi took Naruto away by the ear, the blonde crossing his arms and pouting.

"Well, it was nice catching up with you two, but Lady Hokage needs to see me. I hope we can catch up some more later!" Iruka said, as he waved a good bye and poofed away.

"I miss the past sometimes," Sakura said, holding onto Sasuke as they continued their walk.

"Yeah," Sasuke said as a slight hurt expression crossed his face.

"Oh, Sasuke, I didn't mean to bring that up," Sakura said, now feeling guilty.

Sasuke just brushed it off and said, "No, I'm fine. Besides, I have _you_ now."

The pink haired girl looked at him with sorry eyes as he just told her to stop worrying.

Sakura then looked up as she felt something wet drop onto her nose. "It's raining."

"Yes, I see that, Sakura," Sasuke said, smirking at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him and started running away, playfully. Sasuke caught up with her and picked her up from around the waist, twirling her around in the rain. She laughed, the angelic sound mixing with the plinking of raindrops falling down. The light drizzle quickly turned into a downpour as a muffled clap of thunder was heard in the distance. Sasuke then picked Sakura up, bridal style, placed a kiss on her pink lips, and ran to her house for shelter.

Sakura was laughing as Sasuke smiled at her. They were both soaking wet, the water dripping onto her hardwood floor, as he put her back onto her feet. Sakura ran upstairs, got two towels, and ran back down stairs.

"Here," she said, handing him a pink towel.

Sasuke accepted it with an amused expression and dried his hair with one hand. "A _pink_ towel? Really?"

When her clothes were dry enough, Sakura ran back upstairs to get Sasuke's spare clothes that he keeps at her house for when he sleeps over.

"Catch," she said, throwing the bundle at him. He caught it with his free hand and headed to the downstairs bathroom to dry off and change. Sakura changed upstairs and came down to find Sasuke in the kitchen, starting dinner.

"Yes! Another one of your meals!" Sakura yelled, going over to hug him.

Sasuke chuckled and said, "I hope you like me for more than just my cooking."

"Yeah, of course I do!" She answered, "So... when will dinner be ready?"

Twenty minutes later, the rain finally stopped and they were eating fried rice, washed down with hot tea.

As they were cleaning up, Sakura asked, "Remember? That was the first thing you ever cooked for me."

"How can I forget that night? It was the day that I came back to Konoha and you told me..." Sasuke hesitated with the ending of his sentence.

"The night I told you about my past? I'm fine, Sasuke. I have _you_ now, right?" Sakura asked, copying what he said earlier.

Sasuke pecked her lightly on the lips and said, "Right."

Sakura glanced at the clock and noticed that it was getting late.

_**'We're suppose to talk with Itachi tonight! Remember?'**_ Inner Sakura said loudly.

"It's getting really late, Sasuke. You should probably go before it gets dark," Sakura said, secretly hoping he would comply.

Sasuke glanced at the clock and sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura."

He embraced Sakura one last time and left for home. Sakura watched him from her door for a while until she felt a presence behind her.

"Oh, Itachi! You scared me," Sakura said as she turned around and saw him standing in her living room.

"I'm sorry," he said as Sakura closed the door and blinds so no one would see him.

"It's OK, you just almost gave me a heart attack. I'll be fine," Sakura joked, waving away his apology.

He laughed out a 'hn' as they both took a seat on the sofa and Itachi continued his story.

"Like I was saying last time, I was working as a spy, giving information to the leaders of Konoha. The fights within the clan grew more and more aggressive and the Third Hokage noticed," Itachi said.

"Sarutobi-sensei...," Sakura said sadly as she remembered the kind, grandfather like man.

"Yes. The Third wanted to somehow negotiate with our clan's leaders, but it was too late. I was ordered to kill every clan member by the elders before Sarutobi-sensei could do anything," Itachi said.

"But... what about Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"According to my orders, I was suppose to kill him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. He's my little brother. I love him more than anything, even my own life," Itachi explained, shaking his head, "I told him to avenge his clan by killing me so I wouldn't have to deal with the guilt anymore, but I didn't think that he would turn against our village. How selfish was I? That made me feel even more ashamed of myself."

"You can't blame yourself for something you couldn't control, Itachi," Sakura said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "And besides, he came back, didn't he? There's no need to be ashamed."

He stared off into space for a while, thinking, before sighing. "I know. Even so, it still hurts. The pain of my past mixed with the pain of..."

"What is it?" The pink haired girl asked, concerned.

"Nothing." His face was becoming a little paler.

"Damn it, Itachi, spit it out!" Sakura said, getting into medic mode.

"I haven't been feeling well. I'm not sure what it is," he finally said.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? This is serious," Sakura said, slightly angered at him for keeping his poor health withheld.

"I have no reason to live anymore," is all he said.

"What the hell, Itachi? You still have Sasuke! He needs you, you need him," Sakura almost yelled.

"He hates me for what I did," he said.

"In his mind, he hates you because he doesn't know the truth. In his heart, he loves you because you're his brother," Sakura said, now standing up with her hands on her hips. Itachi doesn't talk after that, giving Sakura time to calm down. "I promise, if you let me help, we can get you two together again. He doesn't hate you, Itachi. He loves and needs you more than you'll ever know." Sakura whispered this calmly as Itachi stands up and faces her.

And then he did the most unexpected thing. He hugged her and let hot tears run onto her shoulder.

"Thank you, Sakura, for showing me a new reason to live," Itachi said, "But I still have the illness."

"I'll get blood samples tomorrow and see what's going on. Don't worry, I'm going to do everything I can to get you two back together," Sakura said and he ended the hug.

"Tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

And Itachi poofed away, a genuine smile was on his face.

**I really like this chapter. No, I love it. I'm very proud of this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did when I wrote it.**

**E person :)**

**8-4-11**


	5. Training

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

"Where's Kakashi? It was his idea to train together today and _he's_ late!" Kurenai said, angrily putting her hands on her hips.

"Get use to it, Kurenai-sensei," Sakura said, cleaning her kunai.

**_'Especially when Kakashi-sensei finally get's the nerve to ask you out,'_** Inner Sakura said.

"Can't we just start without him?" Naruto and Kiba asked for the hundredth time.

Hinata was sitting next to Sakura, trying to meditate, while Shino was standing quietly under a tree. Sasuke was sitting at the base of the same tree with his eyes closed.

Kurenai let out a sigh as she said, "OK, let's start. Naruto, you and Hinata will be training together. Sakura, you will be training with Shino. Sasuke, you'll be with Kiba. Everybody got it?"

Everyone let out a 'yeah' and got up, excited to finally start.

"Hey, guys, I know I'm a little late, but I was helping an old lady-" Kakashi said, poofing out of no where in a cloud of smoke.

"You used that one last time, sensei!" Naruto yelled pointing angrily at him.

"Oh, in that case, I got lost on the path of life," Kakashi said, smiling at his students from behind his mask.

"That was the first excuse that you used on us, sensei. Don't think we've forgotten," Sakura said, also pointing at him angrily as Sasuke stared at his teammates.

**_'Just like old times,'_** Sasuke thought**_, 'Now that I think about it, this is the first time we've trained as a team in years...'_**

"OK, OK, you guys get back to training and I'll have a talk with Mr. An Hour Late For Training," Kurenai said, walking over to the silver haired man.

As Sakura was training with Shino, she glanced over at Naruto and Hinata to see how they were doing. They were practicing their kunai throwing and one of Hinata's kunai hits a tree two feet away from the target.

**_'It's a good thing Naruto's so oblivious to her messing up on purpose,'_** Sakura thought, dodging a swarm of bugs coming her way.

The pink haired girl then threw a punch at Shino as he jumped back to dodge it, and countered with another swarm of insects. They buzzed by Sakura's ear as she moved to the side and continued to observe her blonde teammate and blue haired friend. Naruto was standing behind her, positioning her body and guided her arm forward to demonstrate how to throw a kunai properly. Hinata was blushing madly from the contact, but luckily didn't faint. She then did what Naruto did and hit the target. Sakura saw that Naruto gave her a high five before turning her full attention back to her own training.

* * *

><p>"OK, guys, you all did really good today! Go get washed up and get a snack into you before dinner," Kurenai announced.<p>

"Yes, but Hinata, I still think you need a little more help with your positions. Naruto, would you mind helping her?" Kakashi asked, giving Hinata a secretive wink, which she responded to by blushing.

"Oh, sure, I'd love to!" Naruto said with a smile. He, Kiba, Sasuke, and Shino then excused themselves and left.

"I think our plan is working out really well, Hinata," Sakura said to her friend.

"Y-yes, thank you again f-for doing this for m-me," Hinata said.

"No problem! Hey, after we freshen up, do you want to go browse through the markets?" Sakura suggested as the two started walking away.

"S-sure. We can get dinner a-after that. I wonder if the other girls are free," Hinata said.

Before they left, Sakura looked back to find Kurenai and Kakashi both laughing as they walked away together.

* * *

><p>"Mmm, the dango is amazing here!" Ino said, reaching for her third, and last, stick of hanami dango.<p>

"Pace yourself, Ino," Sakura said, taking another bite of her anmitsu.

"But it's so good!" Ino exclaimed.

"Don't you just love dessert time?" Tenten said, setting down her white colored dango and picked up her green tea, blowing on it and sipping it slowly.

"Aren't y-you going to have anything, S-Sasuke?" Hinata asked while finishing her first stick of dango.

"No thank you. I don't have much tolerance for sweets," he answered, drinking his tea.

Sasuke sat there and listened to the girls' gossip as they finished their desserts.

"Well, it's getting late and team Guy's having 'extreme' training tomorrow, so I need my rest. I'll see you guys later, K?" Tenten said, getting up from her seat.

"Yeah, I guess it is getting late. I should go too, before Mom and Dad kill me," Ino said jokingly and walked away with the brown haired girl.

"U-um, I guess I should go t-too. N-Naruto arranged for u-us to train tomorrow," Hinata said, "I'll see you two later."

"Bye, Hina," Sakura said as Sasuke waved a good bye.

_**'Hey, have you forgotten something?'**_ Inner Sakura asked.

_**'I forgot how peaceful it is without you barging into my head, but you just ruined that,'**_ Sakura responded.

_**'You idiot! You promised to meet Itachi tonight, and of course, you forgot!'**_ Inner yelled.

_**'Oh shit, I did forget.'**_

_**'Oh, really?'**_

"Hey, Sakura, is everything OK?" Sasuke asked, looking at her with slight concern.

"Oh, yeah, I was just thinking that the girls were right. It _is_ getting kinda late, so we should go," Sakura said, secretly hoping he would comply.

"I guess it is... let's go then," Sasuke said as they both got up and walked toward her house.

Sakura got her keys and opened her door. She noticed that Sasuke was following her inside, so she blurted out an excuse, "Um, I'm really tired tonight, and I have an early shift at the hospital tomorrow, so I'm gonna go to sleep early. I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

Her boyfriend stopped and looked at her, confused. _**'What's wrong with her tonight? She's acting all jumpy.'**_

"Sure, Sakura. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night," Sasuke said, pushing away his thoughts as he placed a kiss on her cheek and left.

Sakura looked as he walked away, and then proceeded inside to find Itachi sitting on her couch, waiting.

"Was that my little brother?" He asked, staring at her with his usual emotionless mask.

"Yes it was," Sakura responded, locking the door and closing the blinds.

Itachi let out a sigh as everything went awkwardly silent.

"I'll go get the the needle ready to take your blood. I'll be back soon," Sakura said, heading for the bathroom. She opened the closet in there and took out a needle, syringe, tourniquet, adhesive bandages, cotton balls, gauze, and alcohol wipes. She then washed her hands and carried the supplies to the living room.

"OK, Itachi, take off your cloak and just stay still...," Sakura said, concentrating as she went into medic mode. Itachi did as he was told and took off his cloak, holding out his arm.

She tied the tourniquet around his arm and found a prominent vein. She then removed the tourniquet and cleaned the area with the alcohol wipes. Sakura took the syringe with the needle and inserted it in and filled the tube.

"Good job, Itachi," Sakura said instinctively.

She removed the needle and put the gauze on the bleeding spot and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. She then discarded the needle and labeled the tube. After the bleeding had stopped, Sakura applied a cotton ball and bandage.

"All done," Sakura said, discarding the waste and putting the materials back into the bathroom closet. She walked back and sat on the couch. "I'll take this to the hospital tomorrow to check it out."

He nodded and asked, "You keep needles and syringes in your bathroom?"

Sakura laughed from the random question and answered, "No, I took then from the hospital yesterday. Lady Tsunade was too drunk to notice."

Itachi nodded and asked, "How is Sasuke?"

"He's doing fine," Sakura answered.

"Is he still planning on killing me?"

Sakura looked at Itachi with surprise and said, "Please don't tell me that you still want him to kill you."

"No, I just need to know," he replied.

"Why?"

Itachi stayed silent and Sakura asked, "Are you afraid that he'll try to kill you if you two meet?"

"Yes. I also need to know if he's still faithful to Konoha," Itachi said, turning his head toward the pinkette.

"He came back on his own free will, Itachi. He's one hundred percent committed to this village," Sakura explained, "And, I'm not sure if he'll try to attack you. I wish that I could say that he won't, but he's been acting weird whenever we mention our pasts and family. I think he's having trouble accepting the fact that he still loves and misses you."

"I hope that that's the reason...," he replies.

"Do... you want to meet him?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Yes, but I don't want him to hate me."

"Well, you'll never know until you try, Itachi," Sakura said.

"Yes, I know," Itachi said with a sigh, "I should probably be going now. You have to wake up early tomorrow for work, right?"

"Actually, I don't have to work until the afternoon tomorrow," Sakura said with a smile, "But I guess I should go early to test your blood."

"Then I'll leave so you can go to sleep. Good night," Itachi said, standing up to leave.

"OK, I'll see you tomorrow night to give you the blood results," Sakura said, also standing up. She then raised her arms up for a hug.

"Hn," Itachi said before complying and giving her the hug. He then poofed away as Sakura went upstairs to sleep.

**Thanks for reading! I had to do a little research for the blood drawing scene, so I hope it's right.**

*****Also, since school's starting soon, this story will most likely be put on hold for a while. I will put up one more chapter for sure, but after that, this story should be on hiatus. Sorry, but education comes first :( *****

**E person :)**

**8-13-11**


	6. Blood Results

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

After sending Itachi's blood in for testing, finishing her shift at the hospital, and getting the results, Sakura made her way toward the training ground

"Hey, Sakura!" She turned herself around to find Tenten walking up to her.

"Oh, hey Tenten. What's up with you?" The pink haired girl asked.

"Team Guy just finished training. What are you doing?" She asked as they both started walking.

"I was just going to check up on Naruto and Hinata," Sakura said.

Sakura and Tenten made it to the training ground and saw that they were in the middle of a fight.

"They make a really cute couple," Tenten said as they hid behind the trees, watching as Hinata dodged a punch.

"Yeah, team Kakashi and team Kurenai are trying to get them together. It seems to be working well," Sakura said as Naruto crouched down and swept his leg at her's, making contact. Hinata then fell onto her back as the fight ended.

"Ah, she lost," Tenten said in disappointment as Naruto extended his hand out to pull her up.

Hinata accepted with a blush on her already red face and he pulled her up. Naruto used a little too much force, so she landed against him instead, there faces just centimeters apart.

"Oh my gosh," Sakura exclaimed as the two girls' eyes grew wider and they move forward to hear what was going on.

"Uh, I need to go, Hinata. I'll see ya tomorrow!" Naruto said in a hurry, as he quickly grabbed his equipment and left the training grounds. All three girls now had their mouths hanging open.

"What the hell just happened?" Tenten asked as she and Sakura revealed themselves to the blue haired girl.

"I should probably go talk to Naruto," Sakura suggested and they agreed.

* * *

><p>Sakura finally found Naruto as he was leaving his house, his hair damp and sticking up in every direction.<p>

"Oh, hi Sakura!" Naruto said as he locked his door.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Sakura asked, afraid that he would run away again if she got straight to the point.

"Nothing, just finished training and taking a shower. I was just going to Ichiraku's for a snack before dinner," Naruto said, "You want to join me?"

"Well, I'm not really hungry, but I'll come anyway. We haven't talked in a while," she said and they made their way to the ramen shop.

"Old Man, one order of the usual!" Naruto said as he took a seat with Sakura sitting to his right.

"Miso with extra pork? Got it!" Teuchi said, making his best customer's order.

"So, Naruto, how was your training with Hinata?" Sakura asked as they waited.

"It was great. She's getting really good."

"Yeah, I was walking by the training ground when I was going home and saw you two. I saw you guys fight and she was doing really well. You know, before you kicked her down," Sakura said as Naruto's order arrived.

Naruto got his chopsticks and said, "It's not my fault I beat her."

"I didn't say it was," Sakura pointed out, "But I did see what happened when you helped her up."

"Hm?" Naruto mumbled, unable to speak with a mouth full of noodles.

Sakura was now getting impatient, so she asked, "Why did you run away after you helped her up?"

He swallowed and said, "I don't know. It felt... weird."

"Do you like Hinata?"

Naruto looked away, thinking. "I don't know. I mean, she's always been nice to me and always supported me. Maybe I do like her."

_**'Yay, he finally admits it!'**_ Inner Sakura yelled with joy.

Sakura smiled and looked at her confused, blond friend. "That's great, Naruto, because she likes you too."

"Really? It doesn't seem like it," he said, in denial, continuing to eat his ramen.

"Trust me, she does. Tomorrow, you should tell her how you feel," Sakura advised.

Naruto chewed on his noodles slowly, processing all of this, and said, "Yeah, I think I will. Thanks for telling me, Sakura."

"No problem. Now, I got to go home to do some chores around the house. Enjoy your ramen and good luck tomorrow!" Sakura said as she left the shop, heading home.

* * *

><p>Sakura was about to start washing her clothes when she heard a knock on the front door.<p>

"Come in!"

She walked back to the living room to find her boyfriend sitting on her couch.

"Hey, Sasuke," Sakura said, walking up to him and sitting down in his lap.

He pecked her on the lips and said, "Hey."

"Where have you been all day?" She asked.

"I was at the Naka shrine, thinking," he answered.

"About?"

"Tomorrow is eleven years since the massacre," he said, looking away from her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sasuke," Sakura said, sympathetically squeezing his hand.

"There's no need to say sorry. It's not like it's your fault," Sasuke said, standing up with her in his arms.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

Sakura promised to close her eyes as he carried her to his surprise.

* * *

><p>"You can open them now."<p>

Sakura opened her eyes and saw that they were at the fields behind the academy again. A red blanket was spread out in the grass with a picnic basket sitting on it.

Sakura smiled as she said, "You're so sweet, Sasuke!"

He smirked and put her down on the blanket. Sakura then opened the basket to find rice balls, potstickers, lettuce wraps, napkins, two cold water bottles and paper plates.

"Wow, this looks so good. Thanks for doing this," Sakura said, opening the plastic containers and passing him his plate and water.

"Hn, no problem," he said as they shared the food.

After they're done eating, they packed everything back into the basket and Sasuke walked Sakura home.

"I still need to finish the laundry," Sakura said as she stared at the stars above, "And wash the dishes, and dust everything, and water the plants, and-"

"Would you like some help with that?" Sasuke asked, smirking at her.

"I'd love that," Sakura said, happy that he complied, as they made it to her front door.

As she was opening her door, Inner Sakura asked, "_**So, are you forgetting something... again?**_"

"_**Itachi!**_" Sakura said, mentally slapping herself for forgetting for the third night in a row.

"Come on," Sasuke said as he reached for the knob.

"Um, wait!" Sakura said, grabbing his arm.

"Sakura, just let me help you, OK?" Sasuke asked, taking his arm back and opening the door.

"No!" She yelled as he walked in. Sakura came in and saw that there was no Itachi.

"Why have you been acting so jumpy and weird these past couple of days?" Sasuke asked angrily.

"I...," Sakura started, "I can't tell you."

This provoked him even more as he stared at her. "So now you don't trust me?"

"No, it's not that, it's just...," she continued, but didn't want to tell him about his brother.

Sasuke sighed angrily and said, "I'll see you later."

"Wait! Come back here tomorrow," Sakura said, "Please."

"I have to go back to the Naka shrine tomorrow," Sasuke reminded her.

"Come late tomorrow night. Around nine or ten," the pink haired girl said.

"Fine," he said and left, taking the basket and closing the door behind him.

"Ugh, Itachi, where are you?" Sakura said, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.

"Right here," he responded, walking down the stairs.

"You're causing me a lot of trouble, you know that?" The medic asked, taking a seat with him.

"You don't need to help, you know," Itachi said, looking at her.

Sakura gave a deep sigh and said, "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I have your blood test results and they're not looking too good."

"How so?"

"Well, the problem is is that we don't know what you have! None of the specialists knew what it was, and even Lady Tsunade couldn't figure it out. Apparently, It's some kind of new bacteria or something like that," Sakura explained.

"So there's nothing you can do to make me better?"

"Right now there isn't, but Lady Tsunade and I are working on making a medicine to fight off this new bug. Hopefully, we'll have it finished soon so you can get better before it makes your health even worse."

"Hn, and Tsunade hasn't asked who's blood this is?" Itachi asked curiously.

"Luckily, no. She probably just thinks that it's from one of the ill patients in the hospital," Sakura said.

"That's good," Itachi said, turning to face her, "So why did you ask my brother to come over here tomorrow night?"

"Because you two are finally going to forget you past's and make up," Sakura said to Itachi, who raised an eyebrow in response as Sakura explained her plan to him.

*****This, and all of my other stories, will be on hiatus for a while because school has started. I might update ever two weeks or so, depending on how rough school is. I hope you all understand because I really do love this story and I don't want to stop writing.*****

**Please review**

**E person :)**

**8-19-11**


	7. Telling Sasuke

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

"Are you spying on Naruto and Hinata again?"

Sakura turned around, wide eyed, and said, "Ah, Ino, you scared me!"

"Sorry, I was just wondering why you're still spying on them. I mean, isn't this like the tenth time you've stalked them this week?" Ino asked jokingly.

"Naruto's gonna tell her that he likes her today!"

Ino's blue eyes brightened as she immediately quieted and crouched down next to her pink haired friend.

"And now you see why I have to stalk them," Sakura said.

"Shh!"

Naruto and Hinata had just finished training, both of them cooling off.

_**'What if she faints when I tell her? What if she runs away? What the hell am I suppose to do then?'**_ Naruto frantically thought to himself, taking another gulp of water.

"Look at him," Ino whispered, "It looks like he's about to throw up."

"Ew Ino, I doubt he'll do that. I'm just hoping that they _both_ don't faint," Sakura replied as Naruto walked up to Hinata.

"Uh, Hinata?" Naruto said, making his move.

She turned around and faced the blond with her trademark blush on her face. "Y-yes?"

"I...," Naruto began, gazing into her lavender tinted eyes while playing nervously with the hem of his orange t-shirt.

"Are you guys training!" A voice yelled from the distance.

All four ninjas looked to the right to see a fast approaching boy wearing a green spandex suit.

"Oh my gosh," Sakura said in disbelief, covering her eyes in horror as Rock Lee ran between Naruto and Hinata and started dragging them away to train.

Before Sakura knew it, Ino jumped up out of her hiding spot and yelled, "Lee, if you don't leave those two alone, I'll kill you!"

Lee's already big eyes widened even more as his face paled. No one messed with a mad Ino.

"Uh, yes Ino!" He said and ran away, hoping that he won't have to encounter the wrath of the blond girl.

"Try it again, Naruto!" Ino dictated as Sakura got up and showed herself. Naruto looked at both girls with a red face as Sakura punched Ino and pulled her away.

"I'm so sorry," was all Sakura said to the embarrassed Naruto and confused Hinata. Once she dragged Ino away, Sakura loosened her grip on her friend and asked, "What the hell was that all about? You ruined the moment for them _and _threatened to kill someone!"

"Hey, I wasn't the one to start it. You should be yelling at Lee, not me," Ino said, shrugging off event like it was nothing and started walking to the flower shop. "I got to go back to work so I'll see you later, Sakura!"

Sakura closed her agape mouth and left, not knowing what to think. The day just kept getting weirder and crazier, and this was only the beginning of it. The girl then looked at a clock to find that it was four-fifty in the afternoon, ten minutes until her shift at the hospital today. Sakura made her way to work, savoring the cool, dry weather until she got there.

* * *

><p>"Good evening, Lady Tsunade," Sakura said, stepping into the medium sized laboratory room.<p>

"Hello, Sakura. I'm glad to see you," she replied, already wearing gloves, goggles, and an apron.

Sakura put on her safety gear and went to work.

"How far are we exactly?" Sakura asked as she grabbed some herbs and medicinal plants.

"I think that we're really close to finding out the cure to this disease but who knows. Something could happen or it could not work," Tsunade answered, measuring her solution.

The pink haired medic let out a silent sigh of disappointment. "Well, I hope it works."

"Yes, we wouldn't want Itachi's health to deteriorate any more." Sakura froze in the middle of crushing the herbs, her eyes wide as she turned to look at her teacher. "Yes, Sakura, I know."

"_How_?"

"You think I don't have his blood samples from years ago? All I had to do was compare them," Tsunade answered, continuing to mix her solutions like nothing happened.

_**'Dammit, why didn't I think of that?' **_Sakura mentally slapped herself for her stupidity.

"OK, I'm sorry for not telling you, but I promised Itachi that I would help him," Sakura apologized, "I was just afraid that you would do something if I told you that he was in the village."

"Sakura, I also know about the massacre. I am the hokage after all," she said, "I'm fine with Itachi being in the village... secretly of course."

"Well that's good to hear. I was planning on getting Sasuke and Itachi together tonight, after my shift is over," Sakura explained.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. There is a lot of tension between them and today is also the day that-" Tsunade started.

"Yes, I know. Sasuke told me," Sakura said.

"Yes, well are you still going with your plan?"

Sakura nodded a yes and continued her work, "This would be the perfect time for Sasuke to know the truth, don't you think?"

Tsunade stayed silent, contemplating the thought. "I guess so, but if you do bring them together, Sasuke will most likely try to attack Itachi at first so you'll have to make sure you can restrain him until he hears the whole truth."

"Of course."

* * *

><p>"No peeking," Sakura reminded Sasuke again as she led him to the fields in the back of the village.<p>

"Hn." Sasuke came like he promised he would and now it was time to put her plan into action.

Sakura was getting butterflies in her stomach, making her feel queasy yet excited. She stopped Sasuke when she spotted Itachi crouching in his hiding spot.

_**'It's now or never.'**_

"OK, Sasuke, open your eyes," Sakura commanded as she signaled for his older brother to get ready.

The younger Uchiha did as he was told and opened his eyes to see nothing special. "What's this all about, Sakura? It's late and if this is a joke, then I'm going home."

Itachi jumped out of the tree that he was hiding in and landed about twenty feet away from them. Sakura positioned Sasuke so that the brother's were facing each other. It took a while for his eyes to find Itachi, but when they did, anger boiled through Sasuke's body and he charged.

Sakura then grabbed him from behind and Sasuke yelled, "Get away, Sakura! Don't you see who's here?"

"Of course I do. I'm the one who told him to come," Sakura responded.

Sasuke froze and angrily asked, "What?"

"Sasuke, I know you're angry at me and you'll be even more angry at me when I tell you this, but Itachi and I have been secretly meeting for the past couple of days," Sakura said to him.

"How could you keep something like that from me?"

"Because we were afraid that you would attack like you just did," Sakura came back, "Just listen." Sasuke's clenched mouth didn't answer so Sakura continued, "Itachi told me the real reason behind the massacre and I think that _he_ should be the one to tell you the truth."

Sakura locked eyes with Itachi and nodded for him to start. He explained everything to his little brother, including the clan's history and how he wished that this never happened.

"I had to do this to save our village. I regret leaving you at such a young age, but the burden of what I just did was too much. I hope you understand my choices and forgive me," Itachi said sincerely.

Sasuke had stayed tense and silent through the whole story, staring at the grass while still trapped in his girlfriend's arms.

"Sasuke," she said. He then pulled away from Sakura and started walking away. "Sasuke!" He didn't say a word or even look back before disappearing into the darkness.

Itachi let out a sigh as he walked up to the pink haired girl.

"I see he's still as stubborn as usual," Itachi commented. Sakura had a worried expression on her face and he noticed. "Go."

She flashed him a quick smile before she said, "Thanks, and I'm so sorry for all of this. You can stay at my house if you need to for tonight."

Itachi watched as Sakura ran after his little brother and he slowly made his way to the Naka Shrine. Today was a special day after all.

**Hey guys! It's been about two and a half weeks since I last updated because of school, but I finally made some time for this chapter. I revealed some things in this chapter and I'm hoping you liked it. I'll probably be updating in two weeks or so. No promises.**

**E person :)**

**9-8-11**


	8. Reunited

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

Sakura searched and searched until she found Sasuke sitting on the roof of the Uchiha compound.

"Finally, I found you," Sakura said, running up to him and taking a seat next to him. "Are you mad?"

After a moment of silence, Sasuke replied with, "Of course I am."

The pink haired girl sighed and said, "Look, we weren't trying to make you mad. We just wanted to tell you the truth. I know you still love your brother Sasuke. I just thought that maybe, just maybe, if I got him to tell you the truth about what happened then you'd forgive him."

"Sakura, I appreciate it but it's… more complicated than that. I just can't trust him like I did before," Sasuke said, letting out a sigh.

"And this was what I was afraid of," she replied. "Why don't you trust him? He trusted you."

"What do you mean?"

"He didn't kill you because he loved you and had faith in you. He trusted you to stay true to your village and protect what you care about," Sakura explained, taking her boyfriend's hand.

"And of course I failed him," he said, looking down at the bushes.

"You didn't fail him. You came back didn't you?" Sakura questioned. "I think that you should give your brother a chance, Sasuke."

"Sakura, you don't know how badly I want to," the younger Uchiha admitted, now looking up at the stars. "I just have trouble doing that."

"Please, just try. He really does love you. He told me that he loves and cares about you even more than his own life."

Sasuke let out another sigh before he asked, "He really said that?"

Sakura squeezed his hand and replied, "Yes."

The two sat on the roof in silence, letting what just happened sink in before they decided to go back to Sakura's house.

* * *

><p>The two arrive, hand in hand, to discover the older Uchiha sitting on the couch, waiting for their arrival. Sakura felt Sasuke tense up and her grip on him tightened.<p>

"Sakura, could you leave us alone for a while?" Itachi asked.

She hesitated before letting go of Sasuke. Before she left the room, she made sure to give a please-don't-kill-him look.

"So, little brother," Itachi started. Sasuke stayed silent, starting at him. "I know you don't trust me but I do still… love you."

This caused Sasuke to stare at the floor, contemplating if what his brother said was true or not.

**'After years of leaving me to fend for myself, he says that he loves me,'** Sasuke thought, conflicted. **'But do I forgive him?'**

"I don't expect you to let me into your life like old times, but I would like to become a part of it again," Itachi admits, standing up. "I don't want to be your enemy anymore, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked at his brother with his arms crossed, "You never were…"

This caused Itachi to mentally grin at his brother. "If it's OK with you, could I stay at the compound tonight?"

Sasuke nodded a yes and Itachi held his hand up. The two brothers shook hands, accepting their new relationship. Sakura then came running into the room and hugged them.

"You were eavesdropping?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You can't blame me; it was intense!" Sakura said, ending the hug. "But I'm glad that things are finally settled enough so things aren't that awkward."

"Hn," the two brothers say at the same time, causing Sakura to laugh.

"See, you two have more in common than you think!" She said.

"Thank you again for doing this for me, Sakura. I could never thank you enough," Itachi said.

"Yeah, thanks for putting up with me. I know I was being stubborn but thanks for not giving up on me," Sasuke said, kissing her on the top of her head.

"Hey, I'm just glad this is settled. I'm happy for you two," she said, hugging Sasuke.

"Like I told you before, Sakura, Sasuke's lucky to have you. Oh, by the way, I approve of this relationship," Itachi said, causing Sasuke to smirk.

"Yeah, I am lucky to have her. And… thanks," he replied. "What time is it?"

Sakura looked at the clock and replied, "Almost eleven. You guys should probably go home."

Itachi moved to the door as Sasuke gave Sakura a goodbye peck on the lips. "Thanks again."

"No problem. I love you. Good night!" Sakura said as her boyfriend went to the door. The two brothers left, making sure that no one saw Itachi, as Sakura went upstairs.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked into the lab to find Tsunade already there again.<p>

"Hello, Lady Tsunade," Sakura said, greeting her mentor.

"Afternoon, Sakura," the blonde haired woman said, "Could you give me the dropper?"

Sakura did so and asked, "How far are we with the cure?"

"I think we're almost done!" She exclaimed. "So how did your plan go?"

"It started out rough but it eventually worked out. They made up and Itachi's trying to come back every night to visit Sasuke. You know, to make up for their lost time together," Sakura explained, looking at a chart of information collected from the experiments.

"Have either of you told Sasuke about his illness?" Tsunade asked although her attention was still on the lab.

"No."

"Well don't you think it's important that he knows?"

"Yes, of course, but I'm not sure how he'll take it," Sakura said, writing down data.

"Well, if he can take what just happened to him yesterday then he can certainly take this," Tsunade said, causing her student to sigh because she knew her teacher was right.

"I'll tell him later then," she said.

* * *

><p>After her shift was over, Sakura took a stroll, heading for the ramen shop. She, Tsunade, and the other scientists and doctors made progress today. Tsunade even said that the cure should be done soon. Sakura was going to cross through the training grounds as a short cut before she noticed Naruto. He was facing the tree… but why?<p>

**'Please don't tell me he's kissing a tree…,'** Inner Sakura said.

**'No, he's not,'** Sakura said, moving to another angle to get a better view. **'Oh my gosh, he's kissing Hinata!'**

Inner Sakura spat out her water while Sakura stared with her mouth agape. Hinata was pinned to the tree on both sides by Naruto's arms, preventing her from escaping, although she probably wouldn't have. She has a slight blush on her cheeks. Sakura then ran off toward Ichiraku's, hoping to find someone she could tell.

* * *

><p>"Shikamaru!" Sakura yelled when she saw him taking a nap nearby.<p>

"Hmm? What is it?" He said, still not getting up or opening his eyes.

"Naruto and Hinata are together!" Sakura said, causing him to open his eyes.

"Really? Well I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later," he said, sitting up. "Hey, do you think you could help me with something?"

"Well I'm glad to see you're happy for them," she said sarcastically. "But sure, what's up?"

"Can you talk to Ino and find out why she's been so angry with me?"

"Still? I thought you would have settled this by now," Sakura said. "I'll go find her now."

"Thanks, you're the best," the lazy boy said before falling asleep again.

Sakura went to the Yamanaka's Flower Shop and pulled her friend aside. There was only one customer so she didn't complain.

"Why are you mad at Shikamaru?" She asked, getting to the point.

"What? Did he send you to ask me?" Ino asked, crossing her arms. "Of course he can't even do this by himself."

"Ino, I'm tired and I just want to eat and go home. Just tell me why so I can settle this," Sakura said, letting out a deep sigh.

Ino played with her blonde hair while saying, "Oh, it's nothing. It's just the fact that he forgot our seven month anniversary!"

"Ino, seriously?" Sakura said, putting her hands on the girl's shoulders. "No one celebrate seven months of anything. It's six months or a year. Sasuke and I never even mentioned seven months."

Ino was still angry but knew Sakura was right. "Hn, he still should have done something special."

Sakura let out a sigh. There was no use trying to convince her anymore. "Yeah, you're right Ino. But I still think you should apologize." Her friend gave a pout and was about to argue but the customer called her over. "I'll see you later, Ino, hopefully after you and Shikamaru settle things."

Sakura decided to skip the ramen shop; she wasn't hungry anymore. Instead, she made her way to the Uchiha compound. She found Sasuke meditating in the living room and, not wanting to disturb him, just sat on the couch.

After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and said, "Hello."

"Hey, how are you doing?" Sakura asked, coming to sit on his lap.

"I'm doing better now that you're here," he replied, causing her to blush slightly. He wrapped his arms around her just as Itachi walked into the room.

"Hello," he said. "I hope I'm not disturbing anything."

Sakura looked at him and said, "Hi Itachi, you're not. Are you feeling OK? You look kind of pale."

Itachi then proceeded to walk to them, saying, "I'm fine."

Just then, he stopped walking. Sasuke let go of the pink haired medic and she ran to his brother as he fell to the ground.

"Get Lady Tsunade!" Sakura yelled as she tried to help the unconscious Uchiha.

**Prepare for a decently sized authors note below. Please read:**

**OK guys, I know you probably hate me now for making you wait so long for an update but I have two legit reasons: School and life. But I dedicated my holiday break to writing and I FINALLY wrote this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I also hope that you guys are also having a great holiday. I guess you could consider this your Christmas/NewYear/Whatever-you-celebrate present. **

**Please leave a review; it's highly appreciated. Again, I'm so sorry but I most likely won't have any more time to write after my break either (got to prepare for the wonderful exams). My next break is during the second week on April so yeah… it'll be a while. But for more stories like this, please take a look at my other Naruto stories and tell me what you think. **

**~ E**

**1-1-12**


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